summer has arrived

 It was just SO beautiful in Pathetica yesterday ~ no fog, no wind. Lots of people and dogs, of course, and the Blogmaid and I enjoyed our walk, lattes and good catch-up conversation at the Chit Chat Cafe. 

playoffs ~ game 5

 Well, the Seattle Mariners FINALLY won in the bottom of the 15th last night as the Blogmaid and I texted to/fro. A very exciting game. There is really nothing quite as intense as October baseball and I love that those crazy fans stood on their feet the entire time. Tomorrow the Mariners play the Blue Jays and that should be great fun too.

old friends in an old SF restaurant

 Pardon the bad top shot of Ken the Person, but I wanted you to see the wonderful photos in those old oval frames in the background. Yesterday we celebrated Ken's birthday at Sear's Fine Food on Powell Street and it was great because they weren't busy and we could actually hear as we tried to determine the year we met and our many career changes and mistakes since then. Also a few good times along the way, of course. Downtown is coming back, yay!

push back, Chicago

 The good people of Chicago took to the streets last night and I believe there was even a Cubs' game going on? We do NOT want our military in our cities and we do NOT want a Dictator in the White House. These are perilous times for those of us who love Democracy. Protests work, as we remember from Viet Nam.

holiday ornament sale

 Here is my neighbor Cristina working on her display and photos in order to sell my vintage (very old) xmas ornaments on Facebook Marketplace for me. She has a real talent for this and I only broke one during this merchandising production. I have some very nice neighbors!

small dinner party

 Annabelle loves a pretty table but she hid when Harlow (bottom photo), my great grand dog, appeared last night. Samantha and Luke had many (many) photos of their honeymoon in the South of France and then neighbor Rob joined us for lasagne and salad and lots of happy chatter. Heidi is in Texas and we all missed her big time. Sam baked cookies for dessert and we all had a splendid time.

making good trouble

 It's a relief to have Saturday Night Live back in our lives and they did not disappoint with this bit making fun of Hegseth in front of the military brass. tRump will retaliate, of course, but let us hope that we can keep free speech in place as they try to smash our democracy.

words, food, friends

 Yesterday was our long-awaited annual writing group meeting up at Sarah's delightful home in Napa. The weather was perfect and the food OUTSTANDING. We read, we talked, we ate too much and really, it was a perfect day in every way. Driving home we said the overused word (that we often sneer at) "blessed" because we are, indeed we are. 

honoring women

 Suze and I went to a lovely little ceremony on the steps of the SF Library yesterday and were treated to some powerful women reading some magnificent poetry, mostly by Maya Angelou, whose statue is shown here next to Suze. We wrote notes and put flowers on the statue and resolved to fight the good fight.

blood and drama

 Here we have Mark Ruffalo looking old and tired as an FBI agent on Task on HBO Max. I had to look away with some of the violence, but I am used to that these days. Mark is in charge of three young FBI agents (all with "issues") on his task force and that part of the story line is the most fun for me. So far.

don't tell Bobby

 My afternoon walk yesterday was to/fro Kaiser for my flu and covid vaccinations. Same arm, no pain whatsoever. The very nice woman there informed me that this was my 11th covid vax ~ I had no idea. At this point, no charge, but we all know that might change. (Oh, I didn't walk from home, I parked on 16th Street which beats that busy Kaiser garage with impatient patients.)

Hulu off/Hulu on

 I had to do some fiddling with Hulu and it still puzzles me that we pay for this streaming business and then have to endure so many ads. In any event, Only Murders in the Building makes me laugh and that's worth a lot these days.

Jen with two dogs

 it's been forever since I walked with Jen and Charli and Birdie. The human had Covid and then was out-of-town for a couple of months and so yesterday we reunited for lots of good catch-up chatter. The dogs barked hysterically when I came into view and that made me smile big time. 

and yet more paella

 Neighbor Rob (husband of Heidi) keeps working to perfect his paella and I am a fortunate recipient of his efforts. You can see the giant paella pan alongside our other neighbors (Jerry and Joanne) and we all had a truly delightful and delicious evening.  

back to Reperch

 For her belated birthday Amy wanted me to give her a guided tour of Reperch because who knows when you might need a previously owned (ahem) table or chair? Then we walked to Togo's for a fancy lunch and then topped off our Saturday at Salvation Army where it was 1/2 off day and man, that retail store was  packed with merchandise and customers. 

simple pleasures

 Doesn't this look like a painting? Yesterday afternoon I walked in the nabe and stopped for an overpriced latte on 24th Street. Worth it. I did some serious people watching and read my July 28th New Yorker and let my iPhone count my steps. I love this city, but you already know that...

yay ~ a favorite returns

 Apple TV is giving us a new episode every week of the most wonderful Slow Horses and it was just what I needed last night after a day of too much grim political news. It did NOT disappoint. 

Mrs. Scott's quilt

 The Berkeley Art Museum has a glorious exhibit of quilts created by local African American women (and a few men) and I urge you to see this. Doug, Barb and I met Suzy and Fuzzy there because Suzy has told us many wonderful stories about her friend and neighbor, Mrs. Scott, now deceased, alas. You can see the detail of men's ties in her quilt (bottom photo) and Suzy brought photos of Mrs. Scott and we praised her over lunch as she helped Suzy during some very difficult times. It was a full and very good day.

the sound of quiet

 

I Went Out to Hear

The sound of quiet. The skyindigo, steepingdeeper from the top, like tea.In the absenceof anything else, my ownbreathing became obscene.I heard the beatingof bats’ wings beforethe air troubled abovemy head, turned to lookand saw them gone.On the surface of the blacklake, a swan and the moonstayed perfectlystill. I knew this wasa perfect moment.Which would only hurt meto remember and neverlive again. My God. How lucky to have liveda life I would die for.
~ Leila Chatti

home and happy about that

 Smooth (long) drive home yesterday and early to bed last night. Today I'm busy doing laundry and giving the girl cat some meaningful attention. No tv up in Ashland but I was still able to follow the idiot tRump and his band of criminals, however now I am back in front of the news. Sheeeeesh, such times we live in.

a happy ending

 Our final play was a delightful comedy The Importance of Being Earnest by clever Oscar Wilde. Excellent Japanese dinner at Kobe, a restaurant that has been here 19 years and we didn't know about it before. Now I will shower and we will head home after breakfast. A lovely vacation but I am ready for hearth and cat and a busy week ahead. 

Murder for Two

 We had a free Saturday which included a walk to the small Farmers' Market here and then lunch outside at Louis' (middle photo) and then the fun evening of dinner and a delightful musical comedy Murder for Two at the Oregon Cabaret Theatre ~ our annual tradition by now and a good way to come to the end (almost) of our adventure here in Ashland. Another really fine day, I am so fortunate.

an all women cast

 Julius Caesar was way better than I expected yesterday thanks to excellent acting and elocution from the cast of talented women actors. Good job! Then we hung out in the Members' Lounge and read on the back deck before an excellent dinner at Nous (middle photo) on Main Street. Always a pleasure to eat outside in this perfect weather. 

a lovely Thursday

This one was sold out and may be the highlight of the play-going here for me in 2025. The modern day Don Quixote does not want to go into assisted living in Quixote Nuevo and escapes into the desert where he meets a loyal and reluctant squire. The costumes are fabulous and the story wonderful and a bit sad as it hits on some truths about age, dementia and regrets. And then we had a scrumptious dinner at Cocorico, a new restaurant here in Ashland ~ I highly recommend it. Oh, yes, in between all of this Mary and I had a wonderful walk in Lithia Park. Now on to Friday!
 

Shane was super

 Excellent play with some unusual twists on the famous Shane story. The was after a walk downtown and some coffee on our back deck. We did see these bold deer on our walk to dinner last night. The garden at Peerless (2nd photo) is delightful and the food was very good. Early to bed was fine by me!

scenes from Ashland

 I will post photos of lovely Lithia Park later this week. We saw a blue heron in there yesterday. We have a back deck here at our Inn (second photo) and it is just so pleasant to sit out there and read and listen to the gurgling creek. Dinner last night at Chateaubriand, ok, not great, but none of us had steak, so maybe that was on us? But at least outside dining again, I love that. And yay, outdoor theatre! The Merry Wives was colorful and confusing and fun and we didn't get home until midnight. Having a delightful time here.